21 Jun 2010

French players boycott training

5:33 am on 21 June 2010

There's mayhem in the French camp at the World Cup finals in South Africa following the team's boycott of a training run in suport of Nicolas Anelka, a day after he was kicked out of the tournament for insulting coach Raymond Domenech at halftime in their game against Mexico, which they lost 2-nil.

The training session had already been halted after a furious row between captain Patrice Evra and a fitness coach Robert Duverne, leading to the immediate resignation of the team director.

The new scandal came a day after Evra told reporters a "traitor" within the team had leaked Anelka's insults to the press.

France, facing an early exit, still plan to play their final Group A game against South Africa on Wednesday morning.